The present invention relates generally to telecommunications, and more particularly to systems, methods and computer products for mosaics of live views of traffic via Internet Protocol Television.
In modern society many people rely on automobiles to travel to work, school, etc. For example, families with multiple members may have to use several travel routes in order to go to multiple jobs and multiple schools. During many times of day, particularly “rush hours”, there may be heavy volumes of traffic. People rely on television and radio to monitor traffic along their travel routes and often have alternate routes in case one route is subject to heavy traffic. People must then actively monitor television and radio in order to determine which routes have what types of traffic. This process can be time consuming and burdensome.
Contemporary cable and satellite television systems generally utilize a set-top box on the subscriber's premises. Sometimes limited set-top box functionality is built into the television, but the set-top box and the television are generally separate devices. The set-top box performs authentication, authorization, and accounting functions. However, a primary function of the set-top box (at least from the customer's viewpoint) is channel selection, including presenting the list of channels available to the customer. This list is often referred to as the electronic programming guide (EPG). Furthermore, Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) utilizes set-top boxes to decode programming delivered over the IP network. This additional power can be leveraged to provide more flexible services to customers. IPTV set top boxes are being designed to allow functions such as access to Internet content (weather, maps, video, music), and access to local video content.
While contemporary cable and satellite television systems offer news channels that can be used to monitor traffic, subscribers typically have to search news channels for information that is specific to their travel routes. Contemporary television systems do not offer the ability to provide travel route availability on communication devices such as IPTV-enabled televisions.
It is therefore desirable to provide a means for providing live traffic view services and capabilities to IPTV devices.